


there's enough madness for the both of us

by rowenabane



Category: NCT (Band), WAYV
Genre: Hitchhiking, M/M, Murder, Mystery, Suspense, Thriller
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-07-02
Updated: 2019-07-02
Packaged: 2020-06-02 11:42:04
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,185
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/19440757
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/rowenabane/pseuds/rowenabane
Summary: Taeil needs a ride. It doesn't matter who gives it to him.





	there's enough madness for the both of us

**Author's Note:**

  * For [](https://archiveofourown.org/gifts).



> happy (late) birthday to lily, one of the most talented writers and sweetest people out there! <3 I love you so so much and am inspired by you all the time!!!

Taeil needs a ride.

That is how things usually start: Taeil needs a ride but he doesn’t have a car so he hitchhikes, waiting on the edge of the highway for a small mercy from someone who doesn't mind having a stranger in their car. Some would be afraid of such things, the unknowing, the vulnerability of transportation, but Taeil finds a small ease in it.

It’s a little past midnight now, and the stars are blocked out by the hovering clouds. The moon is round and white and watchful as Taeil walks along the side of the highway, hand out, his feet crunching against the gravel on the shoulder.

It usually takes a little bit of time for him to get picked up, but tonight it happens quickly - a gray sedan pulls over to the side of the road, headlights catching Taeil in their light as it stops. There’s a man peering at Taeil from behind the windshield, and he rolls down his window as he passes.

“Hi,” the man says, smiling. It’s an easy smile, wide and bright, reaching all the way up to his eyes. His hair is a washed blond, just beginning to turn brown at the roots, and his face holds a kind of attractiveness that he cannot ignore. Taeil looks in the car and sees no other passengers. That’s good. “Where are you headed?”

“Central City,” Taeil says, leaning against the car door. The stranger gives him an oddly appraising look, sweeping his eyes over him.

“That’s four hours away,” the man says. “That’s a long ride.”

“Yeah, sorry, but I really need a ride.” Taeil rubs the back of his neck. “Do you mind?”

The man smiles. It's a lovely smile, one that brightens his face and makes Taeil feel at ease. “Of course not. I’m headed that way myself. Get in!”

Taeil gets in the car, which is clean and cool. He pulls the seatbelt across his chest as the man watches. The night presses on the windows.

“I’m Taeil,” he says. “Thank you.”

“I’m Kun,” the man replies. He pulls out onto the highway. “It’s nice to meet you, Taeil.”

…

“So why are you headed to Central City?” Kun asks. The yellow lines of the road blur as they pass by.

“It’s personal,” Taeil says. “For a friend. I can’t drive.”

“Ah.” Kun nods. “I work there. It’s quite a drive but hey, what else can I do?”

Taeil nods. 

“You can turn on the radio if you want. It’s a long way to Central City.”

Taeil does just that and the voice of a news broadcaster fills the car, reporting a story in bored, dulcet tones. 

_Police are still investigating the so-called “Hitchhiker Murders,” but so far there have been no new developments. Police are on high alert across the area-_

“Yuck,” Kun says, twisting his face into dissatisfaction. “I’m not a big fan of the news. Makes me sleepy. Change the channel, please.”

Taeil does just that. They drive on.

…

The moon is high and cars few. It is just them and the few stragglers going on long cross-country trips, half of them either falling asleep behind the wheel or wired on caffeine. Kun and Taeil sit in relative silence, pop music playing on the radio. It ends, and then some late night radio DJ is discussing the dangers of traveling alone, and now let’s go to the commercial break, buy Colgate toothpaste for a brighter smile!

“What do you do?” Taeil asks. “You must have a pretty exciting job if you drive four hours every day just to go to it.”

“I work as a teacher,” Kun says, fondness creeping into his voice. “I love kids. I’d do anything for my students.”

“That’s so sweet,” Taeil says, and he means it. He’s having second thoughts about something, but he isn’t quite sure what.

“What about you?” Kun asks. “What do you do during the day?”

“I’m a librarian. It’s pretty mundane, to be honest.”

“Librarians are great!” Kun says enthusiastically. His eyes are glued to the road, but he’s smiling. “They do so much for kids. I always take my kids to the library at least once a month. They love it.”

Taeil feels a gnawing in his stomach and ignores it.

...

  


Taeil is about to say something when Kun breaks the silence, smiling.

“I’m going to take a shortcut off of this next exit that will get us to Central City faster,” he says. He looks over at Taeil. “You don’t mind, do you?”

Taeil smiles back. “Of course not. In fact, I was just about to suggest the same thing.”

The highway zips past them, the only light that of headlights as they pass by. The sky is dark as oil, no stars just clouds, and Taeil watches the moon hover in the corner of his vision. 

Kun turns off the exit, taking a detour that Taeil knows well. It’s dark and tree-lined, forest blocking the view from the main highway. It’s long, too - at least 10 miles of dark curves and no light. He’s taken this route many times, hitchhiking across the area. He always heads to Central City on these trips, always with someone who is too kind-hearted to be welcoming strangers into their vehicles on a four hour trip.

Sometimes it’s families, with children who giggle at him from their car seats. Sometimes it is the old and loving, who pin photos of grandchildren to the dashboard. He never asks these people to take the shortcut, never asks them for anything more than a ride. They happily oblige and when they let him off he gives them a warm smile and waves goodbye. He lets them leave, lets them go.

Kun keeps driving, eyes glued to the road, face blank in the darkness. The radio plays softly but Taeil doesn’t hear it, can only hear wheels against the road and the empty rustle of the dark trees. Road signs glow like reflective eyes in the night.

“This way can get treacherous at night,” Kun says casually, adjusting his grip on the wheel. “All these turns.”

Taeil nods and hums in agreement. He pulls his jacket closer around him, chilled by the excessive air conditioning. Kun doesn’t even seem to feel a thing, doesn’t even shiver even though his shirt looks too thin to give any type of warmth.

“People have died on this road,” Taeil says.

“People have died on almost every road,” Kun replies.

Silence, for a while. Taeil watches Kun's profile in the half-light of the headlights reflecting off the road, traces the slope of his nose and the parting of his lips.

Kun’s car sputters, and then grinds to a halt. Kun frowns, then gives Taeil an easy smile. “Let me check the engine.”

Taeil watches Kun step out of the car, watches him pop open the hood and peer inside. For a moment he vanishes from view and Taeil is left staring out into the night. There’s a bang of metal and Kun closes the trunk, shaking his head.

“Looks like we’re gonna have to walk,” Kun says sheepishly. “I’m really sorry. I don’t know what's wrong.”

Taeil feels a chill run up his spine but gets out of the car. The night has a sticky warmth, clinging to his skin like grease. He can smell oil and metal and Kun gives him a shy, boyish smile.

“Be careful,” he says. He offers Taeil his hand as he steps out of the car. “There’s quite a drop on the other side.”

Taeil looks down at the ravine on the other side of the highway barrier, wide and deep and filled with trees. Taeil can imagine what a fall like that would do to a body, can imagine how it would break bones and crush skulls. He can only imagine what it would do to a living body, that feeling of falling and then nothingness.

“Are you afraid of the dark?” Kun asks. 

Taeil smiles at him, the sky black above him, the trees pressing against the dark road. “No. I’m not.”

…

  


They walk for a little while, silent in the darkness. Now they are both hitchhikers, no car and no phone signal. Their detour is less of a detour and more of a dead spot, a place that doesn’t quite exist.

The trees are dark. Maybe something is watching them. Maybe they are watching each other. Who knows, when the night is this dark and they are this lost? Who could know?

Taeil shoves his hands in his jacket pockets as Kun stares at his phone, the glow of the screen making his eyes seem like hollow pits. He frowns, but when he sees Taeil looking at him he shrugs. 

“There’s no signal,” he says. “I’m really sorry.”

Taeil watches him put his phone back in his pocket, then releases a breath.

"Don't be," Taeil says placatingly. "It's not your fault."

They walk a little longer, silence mingling in the space between them. Taeil sweats in the late summer heat, but Kun seems curiously unbothered. Taeil takes a deep breath: if he’s going to something, he has to do it now.

Kun walks over to the guardrail, eyes trained on the trees below. 

“We’re so high up,” he says. He gives Taeil an electric grin. “Doesn’t it scare you?”

"No."

Taeil stands behind him, reaching into his jacket. He pulls something out, metal glinting in the moonlight. Several steps forward and Taeil is pulling Kun backwards, pressing his knife to Kun's throat hard enough for it to sting. Kun doesn't move, and Taeil can feel his chest rise and fall evenly beneath the arm he has wrapped across his chest.

Silence. A sigh. 

"So you're the one," Kun says, a hint of admiration in his voice. "The killer hitchhiker all the news stations have been talking about."

"Maybe I am," Taeil replies, grip tightening. 

“I’m incredibly impressed,” Kun says, and now he is smiling. “You kept me guessing up until the very end.”

Taeil frowns, and Kun slips out from his grip, spinning him into a chokehold of his own. His grip is tight, experienced, the motion has a practiced ease to it and it is obvious this is not the first time Kun has done this.

Taeil grabs Kun’s forearm, which Kun squeezes against his throat. Taeil feels crushed against Kun’s chest, small, unsteady.

“What are you talking about,” he chokes out, Kun’s grip tightening. The knife is still gripped incredibly tight in his hand, but he can’t quite hurt Kun without hurting himself. There is also a burning curiosity eating away at him, one that urges him to keep listening.

"You've got a good thing going," Kun says. "Very convincing. If I didn't know better I would have thought you were just another lost guy on the highway."

Taeil slashes at Kun's arm, and when the other man draws back, hissing, he pushes him against the guardrail. The ravine and the trees are dark below them, whispering and waiting. Taeil knows what a fall like that would do to a body, knows how easily every bone in Kun's body would break, knows he would probably scream all the way down until he couldn't anymore. 

"Who are you?" Taeil asks, pressing Kun against the guardrail. The metal creaks and Kun throws his head back, as if he enjoys the threat of imminent death. 

"I guess you could say I'm the other highwayman around here," Kun says. He grins at Taeil, hands wrapped in his jacket as if to say _if I go over, you do too._ "Just wanted to see who has everybody so scared." 

Kun has the audacity to look coy, peering up at Taeil through lowered eyelashes. Taeil grits his teeth.

"You've been quite helpful, actually," Kun continues. "Everybody is so scared of picking up the bad hitchhiker the real ones don't hesitate when I stop by."

Taeil pauses. A news broadcast plays in his head, static and blurred words but it says something like _body of a 21-year-old man was found today outside of Central City,_ it says something like _it is believed this man was a frequent hitchhiker and was last seen waving for a ride several miles outside of Central City, his car broken down_ it says something like _it is unsure if this murder is related to the Hitchhiker Killer but police are investigating all possible theories._

"So you're the other one," Taeil says softly, almost in wonderment. "The one that picks up hitchhikers and kills them."

"Yes," Kun says, voice almost happy. "I am."

Two hitchhiker killers, both on the other side of the same coin. A hitchhiker and his ride, both equally deadly and lost.

"So you originally intended to kill me, huh?" Taeil pushes against Kun, the both of them slotting together like puzzle pieces, so close that if the guardrail gave they would both go toppling over into the ravine below.

"Maybe," Kun says breathlessly. His face is just one big shadow in the moonlight, save for his electric smile. "But I knew right away that you were a bit different."

"What gave it away?" Taeil asks.

"Nothing," Kun says. "Nobody would have suspected a thing. You were _too_ perfect," Kun continues. "Not even afraid. Out in the dark and all alone and not even _hesitant_."

"I'll be sure to work on that next time," Taeil grits out. Kun shoots his leg out, sweeping it under Taeil's feet. Taeil's shoulder hits the pavement hard and he pulls down Kun with him, both of them lying on the empty road. His knife clatters across the road.

"It'd be a shame to kill you," Kun says, lips twisted in a pout. It's almost cute. "It's so rare to find another professional in this line of work."

"I have a day job," Taeil replies, miffed, Kun's weight resting above him. "This is just a hobby."

"Some people collect baseball cards. Why don't you do that instead?" Kun's voice is light, mocking. He places a hand on Taeil’s chest, warm through his shirt. "You can't get arrested doing that."

"What's the fun in that?" Taeil asks, smiling. It's a cautious smile, calculated, but it is mostly real. His heart is a traitor in the way it races under Kun’s palm.

Kun shrugs and Taeil drives his knee into his chest, driving him back in surprise. Kun's head hits the guardrail and slides under it, hands flailing as he grabs Taeil. His blond hair glimmers against the darkness below.

"Enough talk," Taeil says. "You act like you're one of the best."

"I am?

Taeil snorts.

"That little trick with your car? Impressive." Taeil shifts a little on Kun's lap and Kun lets out a laugh that sounds almost panicked. "But incredibly predictable. If I was a cop I would've shot you on the spot."

"Ah, but you're not a cop." Kun is grinning again.

"You're lucky," Taeil says. 

"I could've killed you the second I picked you up," Kun says. " _You're_ the lucky one."

"Am I? Who's the one with his head hanging over a cliff and completely relying on the mercy of stranger? I don't think it's me."

Kun grabs Taeil's neck, slamming his head on the guardrail. The metal gashes into Taeil's forehead and he cries out, falling back. The pavement bites into his skin and Kun’s face is so close above him he can make out the brown of his irises, even in the dark.

“Kiss me,” Taeil says, and he doesn’t know why.

Kun’s lips quirk up at the corners. “What for?”

“Do it, coward,” Taeil gasps out. “Or I’ll throw you over the cliff.”

Kun smirks and dips closer, breath ghosting over Taeil’s cheek. He kisses him lightly on the cheek before pulling back, eyes dark and unreadable. Taeil sighs at the featherlight touch, sighs at the way his heart flutters. It’s such a simple, mindless thing, but it feels like falling in love.

"It was nice meeting you," Kun says, statement perfectly poised and polite. It's like they are acquaintances meeting for lunch, and not two serial killers lying wrapped up in each other on the pavement. “But I really must be going.”

“What?” Taeil rasps, Kun’s hand still wrapped around his throat. His skin tingles. “Not going to kill me?” 

He's not quite sure that's what he wants, not quite sure what he was expecting, but disappointment hits him all the same.

“It’s too late for that,” Kun says. “The sun is rising. I'm sure we both have places to be.”

And it is true, the sun is rising somewhere in the east and the faintest light peers over the ravine. It will be a while until the sun is actually prominent in the sky, and it would be so easy for Kun to kill him, throw him over into the rocks below. Taeil wouldn’t scream on the way down. Kun could walk back to his car and drive away, absolved of this particular crime. The Hitchhiker Killer, or at least one of them, would become nothing more than a myth.

“Besides,” Kun says as he stands, extending a friendly hand to help Taeil up. “We help each other, in a way. Call it mutualism, if you will. Things are better with both of us alive.”

Taeil takes his hand. Blood soaks Kun’s shirt from where his cut arm was resting, and when Taeil wipes his forehead his jacket sleeve comes away red. He winces.

“Now what?” Taeil asks, picking his knife up off the ground. The sun is rising as he shoves it in his pocket. “Are you gonna make me walk all the way back to Central City?”

“Of course not.” Kun smiles, radiant as the rising sun. “Do you need a ride?”

…

A week later and Taeil is standing at the edge of the highway, sitting on the guardrail. The cut above his eye has mostly healed, just a tender spot of pink skin that will eventually fade without scarring. It’s dark out already but not too late, just shy of midnight. The moon is waxing. The stars are bright.

Taeil sticks out his thumb, watching cars drive past. Few of the drivers even give him a second glance - some give him a second glance but with wary eyes, and drive on.

Eventually, a car pulls off the highway, wheels crunching into the gravel at the side of the road. It’s a familiar car, a gray sedan with one of the windows down. A familiar face peers out the window, arm draped over the passenger seat, and Taeil feels something warm rise in his chest.

“Hello stranger,” Kun says, smiling at Taeil through his open window. He hasn’t changed, save for the bandage over his arm. “Where are you headed?”

Taeil gets in the car, curling a hand over Kun’s thigh. The highway stretches endlessly in front of them, all shadows and black asphalt. “Central City, if you don’t mind.”

Kun grins at Taeil and they head off into the night, headlights vanishing against the oil slick sky.  
  
  
  
  
  
  


**Author's Note:**

> happy birthday lily!! mwah love u
> 
> hmu!  
> [twitter](https://twitter.com/nastaeyong)  
> [cc](https://curiouscat.me/nastaeyong)


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